How splendid and special was the day and the much appreciated warm weather! Shortly after heading out on tour this morning we encountered a small group of 10-12 Pacific White-sided Dolphins who were grouped together, their fins on the surface they looked to be quietly resting and as we moved slowly away from them, a couple joined us briefly at the bow of our boat before turning back to regroup with the others. It was under a blue and cloudless sky that our passengers today looked to the west in great anticipation of good things to follow as we traveled in that direction to meet up with some ‘incoming orcas’ who had been reported traveling east from Bere Point. Two orcas appeared to be in the lead, one was identified as A24, the second orca was a mature female and not that of A24’s calf born in ’09 and we did not see her calf in our sighting although we had a wonderful viewing of A24 herself at the bow of the boat when she suddenly appeared, having turned back to feed, foraging back and forth around the hull of our boat as we sat idle and drifting in the current, all the while listening to A-Clan vocals via our hydrophone. The A24 and A25 pods continued to travel to the east and as they rounded Lizard Point we observed them to be tight, in close to the shore, rubbing briefly on the small pebbles before moving on; they were most definitely on a mission and seemed to gather speed having passed Lizard Point even though they were swimming against an ebbing current. Other sightings today included: Dall’s Porpoises, Harbour Seals, Rhinoceros Auklets,Common Murres, Bald Eagles, Mew and Herring Gulls. It was a special treat when nearing the dock in Alert Bay at the end of our tour that two Dall’s Porpoises suddenly appeared surprising our Alert Bay bound passengers, riding briefly at the bow of the boat. It was a magical moment and wonderful ending to a brilliant day of viewing.